Promoting Ethanol In The Southeast

Chuck Zimmerman2010 Conference, AudioLeave a Comment

Bioenergy was a big topic this morning with a pair of presentations. First up was Dennis Wiese, Growth Energy.

Dennis says they need to get outside the cornbelt on this issue so he was happy to have a chance to speak to farmers in the southeast. Growth Energy is an ethanol advocacy organization based in Washington, DC. He’s hoping that farmers here will get involved, especially by joining Growth Force. It’s a free membership to help advocate for renewable energy. You can hear more about what Growth Energy is working on in my interview.

Listen to my interview with Dennis here:

Listen To MP3Dennis Wiese Interview (MP3)

12th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Ban No Peanuts Award

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Providing an outlook of what’s going on in Washington, DC was Congressman Bobby Bright, AL (pictured left). He didn’t know it was coming but he was presented a special award today from the Alabama Peanut Producers Association.

The award was presented for his work on the halt of the Department of Transportation ban on peanuts in public transportation. So the award is called the “Ban No Peanuts Award.”

12th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Ag Technologies Going Wireless

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The sponsor once again this year for the conference blog is Ag Technologies/Trimble. I spoke with Josh Pitts to learn what’s new with the company.

Josh says that technology has become more solutions based so they’re moving more toward implement control after being focused on guidance for so long. So they’re introducing wireless technology which will allow growers to connect to the home or to their consultant. He says that precision ag is driving efficiency and that drives profitability for farmers. All farms are different so he says they go to a farm and basically write a prescription customized for that farm.

Listen to my interview with Josh here:

Listen To MP3Josh Pitts Interview (MP3)

12th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

New Auburn University Ag School Dean

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The new Dean of the College of Agriculture at Auburn University, Bill Batchelor, joined us this morning. I spoke to him about his new position on a break.

Bill comes from an ag engineering background and sees dealing with the realities of the economic downturn as a priority for the school. He says that they have to learn how to do more with less so they’ll be looking at ways to maximize their resources. He sees peanuts contributing significantly to human nutrition as it grows in importance along with the population.

Listen to my interview with Bill here:

Listen To MP3Bill Batchelor Interview (MP3)

12th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Investing Farmer Checkoff Dollars

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One of the sponsors of the conference is the National Peanut Board. I spoke with Marie Fenn, President and Managing Director, about the ways the Board is investing farmer dollars. She says it’s on two fronts.

One is production research. She points out that the profitability winners announced here are using technology and information that comes out of research projects funded by the NPB. Another area is marketing and promotion where they focus on five areas of business development that include retail and college/university dining, an area in which they see big gains and a lot of growth in the future. You can hear a lot more details in my interview with Marie.

Listen to my interview with Marie here:

Listen To MP3Marie Finn Interview (MP3)

12th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Peanut Profitability Winners

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The Farm Press Peanut Profitability Awards were announced this morning. A winner is selected from each of the three main peanut producing regions. Pictured are (l-r) Richard Rentz, South Carolina, Greg Frey, Publisher, Farm Press, Rusty Strickland, Texas and Al Sudderth, Georgia.

I spoke to each of the winners and asked them what the award means to them, what makes them profitable and how their crop looks now.

Listen to my interview with Al Sudderth, Southeast Region Winner, here:

Listen To MP3Al Sudderth Interview (MP3)

Listen to my interview with Richard Rentz, Upper Southeast Region Winner, here:

Listen To MP3Richard Rentz Interview (MP3)

Listen to my interview with Rusty Strickland, Southwest Region Winner, here:

Listen To MP3Rusty Strickland Interview (MP3)

12th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Determining Peanut Maturity

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We heard from National Peanut Research Laboratory, representative, Wilson Faircloth during a question and answer session all about research and production. He was part of a large panel for growers to pose questions to.

Wilson says that he’s working on irrigation since we’re at that peak time when peanuts need moisture. He says they’re refining models and encourages to use a guide for proper management of their irrigation system. This is important since peanuts are not as determinate in their water use as other crops. Another project he’s involved in hopes to create a method to determine when to harvest peanuts for maximum yield. Maturity is a major issue and he says they’ll be releasing a computer model later this season using growing degree days and other things to help make this decision.

Listen to my interview with Wilson here:

Listen To MP3Wilson Faircloth Interview (MP3)

12th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Supporting County Extension Agents

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According to the peanut farmers I’ve spoken with here at the conference, their local county extension agent is a very important resource for them. The Georgia Peanut Commission made sure that some of them could be here. One of the ones I met was Rusty Harris, Wirth Co., GA. He was participating in the Georgia Peanut Achievement Team meeting yesterday. He says his county is the number one peanut producing county in the state.

He says it’s an honor to be able to attend and appreciates the support of the GPC. This is his first time attending and he believes it’s the premier meeting in the country for peanut producers. Right now he says crop conditions in his area are very dry so irrigation is a top of mind issue. However, he sees it as just another normal year.

Listen to my interview with Rusty here:

Listen To MP3Rusty Harris Interview (MP3)

12th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Enclosure Approved For Devgen

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A new sponsor at the conference this year is Devgen, makers of Enclosure, a new nematicide. Here with us is Jim Cartwright and Deborah Meier. They told me it has a dual activity that also controls some other pathogens. By reducing the nematode population it will increase yield. University research has been done of course and more is going on this season. The product is being distributed by Helena Chemical.

Listen to my interview with Jim and Deborah here:

Listen To MP3Devgen Interview (MP3)

12th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Syngenta Wants You To Get Your Peanut Rx

Chuck Zimmerman2010 Conference, Audio, Conference SponsorsLeave a Comment

What’s new with Syngenta? That’s what I asked one of our major sponsors today. Representing Syngenta is Lyle Stewart.

Lyle says they have a full portfolio of products for the peanut producer and points them to Peanut Rx which is a program they support that can be found at most peanut state land grant universities. He says it will provide growers with a precision spray schedule after determining disease risk on their farm.

Listen to my interview with Lyle here:

Listen To MP3Lyle Stewart Interview (MP3)

12th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album